Angle-resolved photoemission study of quasi one-dimensional conductor Nb3Te4

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on Nb3Te4, whic h has zigzag Nb-Nb chains along the c-axis in the crystal. We found a dispe rsive Nh 4d band near the Fermi level (E-F) which crosses E-F midway betwee n the center and the boundary of the Brillouin zone in the chain direction. The intensity of the Nh 4d band was found to be substantially suppressed n ear/at E-F, showing a typical Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid behavior of 1D meta ls. On the other hand, a clear Fermi-edge cutoff, characteristic of 2D or 3 D metals, is seen for this Nb 4d band. All these results suggest that Nb3Te 4 is a quasi ID metal with admixture of 2D or 3D character due to the finit e inter-chain interaction. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.